


The Kazekage's Friend

by Mornelithe_falconsbane



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Definitely diplomacy, Diplomacy, M/M, Pre-Relationship, What else would it be?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 13:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12607596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mornelithe_falconsbane/pseuds/Mornelithe_falconsbane
Summary: Dusk was falling when they reached Suna. The plain in front of the gate was filled with people and carts, the yellow glow of old-fashioned oil lamps warring with the blue-white of chakra lanterns and the duller colours of battery-powered electrical lights.





	The Kazekage's Friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shadow_lover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow_lover/gifts).



Dusk was falling when they reached Suna. The plain in front of the gate was filled with people and carts, the yellow glow of old-fashioned oil lamps warring with the blue-white of chakra lanterns and the duller colours of battery-powered electrical lights. 

Temari and Kankuro had assured him that his shield had held, but they’d had no time to check when he’d been taken. As much as Gaara trusted them, seeing the Night Market’s lights blinking on was far more reassuring.

“Are they all gathered for you, Gaara?” Naruto asked, shading his eyes from the setting sun as he stared. “There’s so many people!”

Gaara fought down a yawn. “It’s only the Night Market.” His eyes ached, raw and dry in a way that no amount of blinking seemed to fix. He needed tea.

“The Night Market...?” Naruto’s smile faltered, then redoubled. “I’ve never heard of that! What’s it like?”

Gaara smiled back, soaking in Naruto’s enthusiasm while he fumbled for the words to describe it. “It’s a market. At night.” That seemed like an inadequate description for Naruto’s curiosity, so Gaara added, “There’s a shop that sells tea.”

“And shops that sell everything else you could need,” Temari added, saving Gaara from having to remember what else was there. “Weapons, food, scrolls--”

“Ramen?” Naruto interrupted, his gaze shifting from the market to Temari. His eyes were very blue.

“Probably?”

Naruto looked straight at Gaara, then turned toward Hatake. “Kakashi-sensei--”

“Ask the Kazekage, not me,” Hatake replied, not bothering to look up from his book.

“Gaara, can we get ramen?” Naruto’s eyes were somehow even wider and prettier when he aimed them at Gaara, as blue as the desert sky even in the fading light. Genjutsu?

“If you wish. I’m not certain if there will be a stall selling it tonight, though.” His body ached from his toes to his hair, but the thought of disappointing Naruto after finally seeing him again--Gaara smiled carefully, adding, “If there isn’t ramen, there’s always other food. And there’s a good tea shop.”

“That tea shop is shit.” Kankuro muttered, displaying his embarrassing lack of taste. Gaara ignored him and hoped that Naruto had not heard.

“You like tea, Gaara?” Naruto asked. The intensity of his gaze faded, and he suddenly looked thoughtful rather than hopeful. “...then maybe we should get tea instead of ramen?”

Sakura’s head whipped around and Hatake lowered his book, both staring at Naruto like he had dropped a code phrase--but no. Both of them were too experienced to react so obviously. Naruto must have just surprised them somehow.

“If you wish,” Gaara said again, struggling and failing to understand Naruto’s teammate’s reactions. “They have good tea,” he added, feeling like he should contribute additional information, but at a loss for anything more to say.

“Okay, we’ll get tea instead of ramen!” Naruto said, beaming at Gaara like he’d said something much intelligent than ‘tea good’.

“What,” Sakura breathed, her voice so soft that Gaara barely heard her.

Hatake slowly raised his book, his eye flickering between Naruto and Gaara before it returned to the pages.

Maybe they didn’t like tea? “There’s usually a dango stand next door,” Gaara said quietly, hoping to make it up to them. “And the tea is--”

“Strong,” Temari interrupted, and Gaara went silent, relieved that she was taking over for him. Usually this wasn’t difficult, but usually it wasn’t Naruto who he was talking to. “Gaara likes his tea strong enough to etch glass,” she added, her shoulder brushing his as she passed him, leading the way toward the market.

Temari was telling a joke in order to make him appear less frightening. It was kind of her, and usually successful. Gaara eyed Naruto and wondered if it had worked.

“Hey, Gaara?” Naruto asked, a trick of the fading light making his smile suddenly warmer when he looked at Gaara. “...what’s your favourite kind of tea?”

“Black,” Gaara said, too fast and too abruptly to encourage more questions, then cursed himself as an idiot. “What is yours,” Gaara added, failing to ask it as a question and noticing too late to fix it.

Naruto didn’t seem to care. “I like pork ramen best,” he mused, “but it’s got to have the hardboiled eggs in it, you know? At least two to go with the meat.”

For some reason, that drew horrified looks from his teammates. Gaara didn’t quite understand why, too busy trying to figure out how much of the Kazekage’s discretionary funds he could divert into luring a ramen maker to the night market. It would be diplomatic, wouldn’t it? It was important to maintain a good relationship with Naruto, and by extension, Konoha. 

“You like...meat?” Gaara asked, remembering to make it a question this time.

Naruto brightened, his grin widening until Gaara’s heart skipped a beat to see it leveled at him. “Gaara, I  _ love _ meat.”

“Naruto,” Hatake said, suddenly walking between them instead of behind. “A question about--” he hesitated for a moment, then pressed on with, “--the third chapter of Tactics. Was Jiraiya intending that to be a genjutsu or a fever dream, do you know?”

Gaara looked away from Hatake’s back, and stared out over Suna and the night market. He was not disappointed that Hatake had interrupted. 

He wasn’t.

Still, it took him a minute or two to calm the sand around their feet.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Belated Halloween! Sorry this didn't get done earlier!
> 
> (And thanks for all your hard work on the treatless spreadsheet!)


End file.
